There is no doubt that Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack's 4-2-5 “Swarm D” has been the most criticized element of Crimson Tide football in recent weeks.

This is certainly understandable, as opposing offenses have outscored Alabama 92-70 since the second half against Georgia, including a loss to Vanderbilt, a historic 40-35 upset loss on October 5th. The Tide defense held strong in the first half against South Carolina last week, but the Gamecocks narrowly fell short in a 27-25 loss.

After the Tide's rout of South Carolina, there was much concern about their next opponent as Alabama shifted its focus to a road game against No. 11 Tennessee. The Volunteers' high-powered offense has struggled in the last few games, as they lost on the road to Arkansas in the same week as Alabama lost to Vanderbilt and Tennessee narrowly beat Florida despite hosting them last week.

On Saturday in Knoxville, the Crimson Tide were the first-half winners in the “battle of recent battles” between the Tennessee offense and the Alabama defense, but the 24-17 loss gave the Vols' offense the second-half victory .

Alabama led 7-0 at halftime after quarterback Jalen Milroe connected with wide receiver Ryan Williams for a 5-yard touchdown. As evidenced by the score, the Crimson Tide's offense was about as sloppy as the Vols' in the first half, but Alabama's defense certainly made up for it in the first 30 minutes of play.

Against the pass, Alabama held Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava to 7 of 14 attempts for 99 yards and an interception by freshman Jaylen Mbakwe in the first half. On an earlier possession, Iamaleava suffered an injury and was sidelined for a game. But at that moment, backup quarterback Gaston Moore threw a pick to Tide safety Malachi Moore.

Alabama also contained Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, who entered the game with an SEC-leading 15 rushing touchdowns by rushing for 35 yards on eight carries. However, Sampson managed a 20-yard run on the first possession, but Alabama defensive end Jah-Marien Latham forced him to fumble and linebacker Jihaad Campbell recovered it.

Another big concern for Alabama on both sides of the season was time of possession battles. The Tide's lightning-fast offense gave them a lot of points in the first games of the season, but opponents held the ball more, which proved detrimental against Vanderbilt and South Carolina.

But in Saturday's first half, Wommack's defense often left the field quickly as Alabama won the battle of possession 20:09 to 9:24. Alabama also held Tennessee to 1 of 5 on third down at halftime, with some red-zone trips occurring as Vols kicker Max Gilbert missed each of his two field goal attempts from about 50 yards.

Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson started the Tide defense on the right note in the third quarter when he recorded a sack that led to a punt a few plays later. However, Sampson and Iamaleava woke up on the next drive when the running back had three carries for a total of 51 yards while the quarterback had a 27-yard run. Sampson got a two-yard score on his fourth attempt of the drive.

But Tennessee's offense kept its foot on the gas pedal and in the second half the switch turned the wrong way for the Alabama defense.

Alabama kicker Graham Nicholson made a 35-yard field goal after Sampson's touchdown to regain the lead, but a 55-yard connection between Iamaleava and wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. set up another short touchdown run for Sampson for a 14-10 lead late in the third quarter.

In the third quarter alone, Tennessee outscored the Tide in passing yards and rushing yards and only trailed the possession battle by less than two minutes. Sampson had 71 yards on just eight carries (8.9 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns in 15 minutes of play.

“That’s what great teams do,” Alabama defensive lineman Tim Smith said after the game. “You go into the halftime locker room, figure things out, analyze them, break them down and come out with something new. They made a few adjustments. I think it may have worked for them, but that’s what all great teams do.”

Milroe and the Alabama offense responded immediately with a touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter that lasted six plays and just over two minutes, but that was all the Tide scored and the defense had none for the rest of the quarter many answers as the clock continued to strike.

Tennessee found itself on Alabama's side of the field after a punt a few drives later. A couple of short and medium gains that the Tide have had difficulty stopping lately got the Vols quickly into the red zone, and the drive ended with an elusive 17-yard touchdown reception that Chris Brazzell II was able to recover Guide.

After another period of short gains and a few punts sprinkled in, a fourth-down stop by the Vols defense immediately put Tennesee within field goal range as Gilbert scored the most important score of the night from 41 yards out, 24-17, 1: 32 to go.

Milroe threw an interception on the first play of Alabama's last hope for a drive, and a few knockdowns led to fireworks, a field rush and a few blown field goal posts.

Tennessee won nearly every statistical category in the fourth quarter, including a time of possession ranging from 10:22 to 4:38.

For the entire game, Tennessee recorded more total yards, nearly triple the number of rushing yards, finished the game 6 of 14 on third down despite going 1 of 5 in the first half, and averaged more yards per play, completion and Rush. Alabama won the battle of possession, but Tennessee still had the ball for just over five minutes. It might not seem like a big difference, but the result and momentum tell a different story.

“This is tough,” Alabama co-captain and safety Malachi Moore said after the game. “We did our best today but came up short. We just have to go back to the drawing board, but everything is still ahead of us…We just have to be honest with each other and strive to be great every day.”